


if you only knew

by urisleys



Category: American Housewife (TV)
Genre: Coming Out, Confessions, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:47:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27909205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/urisleys/pseuds/urisleys
Summary: oliver and cooper find out people aren’t joking about calling them a couple.
Relationships: Cooper Bradford/Oliver Otto
Comments: 5
Kudos: 108





	if you only knew

they weren’t quite sure when it started. 

it wasn’t like they made a big deal of it the first time they held hands intentionally, mostly because they’d been doing it on occasion for years already, for as long as they’ve known each other. so, when it became more of a regular occurrence of oliver grabbing cooper’s hand in the hall between classes, or cooper instinctively reaching for oliver’s when he could sense the other getting nervous—they didn’t really pay too much attention to it. it was just natural for them to hold hands casually after some point. 

other types of affection were a given for the pair, too. the fixing of a stray hair, clothes being picked out and shared, hugs, nudges, the ever-so-often  _ bro cuddle—_really, the list was endless for the amount of platonic affection cooper and oliver offered one another. and that’s all it was, to them, at least. platonic. dude stuff. guys being guys. even with the jokes people made about them dating, they were confident enough in their friendship to not let it get to them and in the way of how close they were, as friends. 

that was, of course, until the jokes stopped being jokes. 

it was probably around the time trevor let it slip to them that, “ _no, people were in fact _ not _ kidding when they called you guys boyfriends_,” and “ _did you seriously not know everyone thinks you’re actually dating?_ ” that they realized it. probably. by that point, the hands laced at their sides were instantly ripped apart as they shared an awkward, wide-eyed look before cooper cleared his throat and threw on his usual grin, albeit likely fake given the context. 

“well, i have english now, amigos,” a wave as he walked backwards and away from his friends. “see you in fifth period, trevor. oliver, at the casa later. feliz cumpleanos, hombres!”

a short moment passed as the remaining pair watched cooper leave. 

“i’m gonna take a guess,” trevor narrowed his eyes at oliver with a tilt of his head. “and say that you two _aren’t_ dating ?”

“we’re not  _ gay_, trev.”

“alright. i don’t really care that much either way, but good for you,” a purse of lips, eyes narrowing further, and a short nod was given by trevor before he closed his locker, turned on his heel, and walked away. 

oliver’s eyes squinted in thought as he was left alone, hands grasping at his backpack straps, “huh.”

now, normally, cooper and oliver would talk things through because they’re pretty good at communication when it comes to each other. except for that one time they kept fighting and katie had to sit them down to talk—and a few other instances, actually, so—no, they’re not really that good at communication. it made sense that the pair avoided each other as much as possible after the incident, even if it was rather hard given that they lived together and shared a room. 

as expected, people started to notice the strain in their relationship as the public displays of affection between the two began to dwindle. the first to say something had to be katie, of course, who cornered oliver one day in the kitchen while cooper was hidden away in the basement.

“what did you do?” asking in the most accusing, and typical, tone as she stared her son down. 

“that depends on what this question is in regards to.”

“you and cooper,” she crossed her arms and leaned over the counter. “i haven’t seen you two together in days. did you break up?”

throwing his arms up with a sigh, “we weren’t dating in the first place!”

katie furrowed her brows. 

“i’m serious, mom.”

“yeah, so am i,” stepping around the kitchen island, katie placed her hands in a comforting hold around oliver’s shoulders and bent down to meet him at eye level. in the softer mom voice that she rarely opts to use, “i’m not here to tell you who you like or what you’re attracted to, even though i’m absolutely right and you should listen to me when i say these things, but everyone who thought you and cooper were dating, we all support you and just want you to be happy—and maybe we’re wrong, but most people don’t look at other people the way you and cooper look at each other without having feelings.”

oliver stayed silent as he let that sink in, the same questioning thoughts that have been running in his mind for days flooding back at full speed. very overwhelming. after the moment seemed to drag on for too long without another word exchanged, katie lifted a hand to place over oliver’s neck as she pressed a kiss to the top of his head, “okay, just think about it, sweetie. even if you don’t end up feeling the way i think you do, it would be a shame for you to lose your best friend like this.”

staring off blankly as his mom walked away, oliver ran a hand through his hair before dropping his head and burying his face into his arms on the counter with an exasperated sigh. he probably still needed time to think this over, gather his thoughts and get a grasp on how he really feels, but it was a lot to take in at the moment and he was fairly certain that he might ponder these things for the rest of his life if he didn’t do it now. so, somehow finding the strength to bring himself to face his best friend, oliver stood up and headed straight for the basement. 

and there cooper was, sitting on the couch by the tv with a game controller in hand when oliver entered the room. turning his head at the sound of footsteps, cooper paused the game as he set down the controller and slowly started rising to his feet, “oh, hey. you can go ahead and play, i was gonna go to bed soon, anyway—“

“actually, coop,” oliver stayed put at the doorway, fingers fiddling at his sides. “i kinda wanted to talk. can we sit?”

cooper blinked wordlessly, worrying his lip between his teeth as he sat back down with a nod, hands nervously smoothing over his knees. he watched with wide eyes while oliver crossed the room to take a seat next to him, anxiety filling him at the unknown territory they were reaching. 

“so, i’m not gay,” oh,  _ that’s _ where the conversation was gonna go. “and this could make things weird, but i also might not be straight?”

a slow nod, “...right, go on.”

“right. okay, so, i was thinking. why do people think i’m gay, and why do people think i’m dating you? like, am i not seeing something everyone else sees?” oliver tilted his head. “and i always threw away the possibility of me being anything other than straight because, you know, i like girls, and i’ve never felt anything for a guy the way i have for a girl. i’ve never felt anything for you the way i have for gina, for example.”

another nod. 

“but i was talking to my mom, like, ten minutes ago and i think this makes sense now, maybe. the reason my feelings for you and gina, or brie, are different is because they were my girlfriends.”

“...listen, i know i’m not the smartest hombre, but i think there’s something wrong with this explanation.”

“i’m not finished, coop. okay, where was i? yeah, so, they were my girlfriends—and you’re my best friend. i liked them plenty, but it’s different with you. you and i do everything together. we literally live together, we share everything, even my parents,” oliver looked at cooper expectantly, only to be met with a lost expression. “and you’re still confused. alright. my point is that i didn’t love gina or brie, but i do love you. platonic or not, you and i already know we love each other.”

cooper’s eyes widened once more when oliver’s words actually processed, but he stayed silent and simply nodded, waiting for his friend to keep going. to top it off. 

“i don’t know if it’s still platonic for me, coop,” oliver shifted his eyes, nervous all over again now that he got the last, most important part out. “and i don’t know what this means to you, because you’re not gay either, and—“

“yeah, i am,” oliver could have gotten whiplash from how fast he turned back to look at cooper when the other boy finally spoke up. 

“what?”

“oh, that was probably too casual for the situation. my bad, let me do that again,” cooper took a breath. “oliver, i’m gay. and not, like, bisexual or whatever. i’m  gay gay. exclusively into dudes.”

“wait—but...” oliver furrowed his eyebrows, mouth opening and closing as he searched for the right words. “charlotte?”

“why do you think we broke up?”

“because my mom gives bad advice.”

cooper grinned and gave a laugh at that, shaking his head, “no, man, your mom gives great advice. neither of us would have come out without her.”

“i guess,” cracking a small simper in return, oliver softened his gaze as he remembered where the conversation was supposed to be going before cooper came out. “so, if you  _ are _ gay, then... i don’t wanna assume anything, but—“

“it’s not platonic for me either, oliver.”

“oh.”

falling into the first comfortable silence in days, cooper’s grin shifted to a nervous smile and he tugged his lip back between his teeth as the two slowly leaned in towards each other. barely an inch apart, “dude.”

“dude,” oliver bit back a laugh and lifted his hands to cup cooper’s cheeks as he closed the final gap between them, lips pressing to cooper’s and pulling him into a soft kiss. the blonde raised his own hands to place over oliver’s, and they only separated after a few seconds, foreheads resting against one another. 

“mom is gonna love this.”

“don’t say anything like that ever again.”

**Author's Note:**

> this is not good xx
> 
> but yell with me on twitter @mlmcooper about how gay these bitches are <3


End file.
